Picking Up The Pieces
by writer-in-progress-94
Summary: Summary inside! Prologue through Chapter 4 is up! Drama universe. Shin/Kumi later in the story. Reviews please!
1. Prologue

Woot! My first Gokusen fanfic! First off, updates may be pretty random (highschool, what you gonna do?) and if I ever go a period of a month without updating, just send me a PM telling me to update. Seriously, spam my inbox, it's my motivation (no sarcasm intended here). I'll try to update once every 1 to 2 weeks.

Summary: When a mysterious young woman with a dark past re-enters the life of one Yamaguchi Kumiko, things begin to get interesting in the lives of her past and current students, as well as in her own. Warning: mention of rape (no details/description), discussion of abuse, maybe an OC death. Told mainly from the point of my OC. Based on the drama.

Disclaimer: Even though I've been wishing for it for Christmas for years, I still cannot call Gokusen my own. I do, however, own the plot of this FANFICTION, and any original characters/situations have come straight from my twisted, Gokusen-obsessed brain.

Enjoy!

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><p>.<p>

The class of 3D at Akado High School first noticed that something was up with their homeroom teacher on a Wednesday, about a week after the situation with Honjo and his dad's tofu shop had been resolved. She had come in the classroom that morning wearing her usual track suit and glasses, her hair in her usual pigtails. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

Their homeroom/math teacher had then proceeded to take attendance. This was when the little red flags began to pop up. Normally, when one of their classmates was absent for roll call, their teacher (a.k.a. Yankumi) would begin to question everyone in the class out of concern. Therefore, when Yankumi called Kazama Ren's name and said student wasn't in the classroom, 3D waited for the inevitable inquiries of his whereabouts. That was when the class of delinquents received their first shock. Their teacher merely looked up from the roster, glanced around, and commented, "Oh? Kazama's not here?" in a questioning tone before finishing calling roll and sitting at her desk.

While the class was debating on whether or not to comment on their teacher's behavior, the student in question opened the classroom door and walked in, his face covered in bruises and bandages. "Yankumi, sorry I'm late," Ren said before making his way to his normal seat. Yankumi looked up from her desk, shifting her gaze to Ren, and the class held its collective breath as they waited for the freak-out that normally would occur in situations such as these. After all, everyone in 3D knew that although there were many things that got on their teacher's nerves, two things she couldn't stand were missing/being late to her class and getting into fights this close to graduation and therefore running the risk of being expelled. This was when the class got their second shock of the day. Yankumi, her face completely neutral, merely stated, "Just try to not be late next time. And you should probably go and see a doctor after school," before once again focusing on whatever was on her desk. The class, stunned, stared in silence until the period was over.

Finally it was the last period of the day, which meant time for another class period with Yankumi. Now, normally their teacher would try to get the entire class participating in her math lesson while at the same time attempting to make it fun, and would always hold them until the bell. Today was different. Yankumi wordlessly came in and sat at her desk, proceeding to stare off into space. After about five minutes of waiting for her to start class, Satoru spoke up. "Um, Yankumi–"

He was interrupted by a ringtone, one from Yankumi's phone to be precise. Without looking at the called ID, she answered the phone. "Mushi mushi?" she greeted, her expression still dazed. Suddenly her expression morphed into one of shock as she stood up so fast that her chair toppled over. "WHAT?" Yankumi exclaimed, startling the class. "What do you mean you're already here?" By now, of course, the entire class was silent and eyeing a distressed Yankumi. "But– wait, what do you mean, meet up? But I have class and– FINE! I'll be there in ten minutes." She hung up the phone and looked at her class. "Guys, I have to go meet someone. Self-study today, okay?" Without waiting for a response she bolted from the room.

There was silence and then–

"Did Yankumi just…?"

"It has to be a guy to be that important."

"I can't believe that she left us for a man."

…

…

…

"YANKUMI HAS A MAN?"

※

In a coffee shop about a mile from the school there sat a young, eighteen year-old girl sipping her water. She turned in her seat at her table by the window and gazed outside at the city, watching people bustling past. "I'm back."


	2. Chapter 1

I was feeling nice and I thought I'd upload the first chapter. Reviews are loved! Also, on a side note, I LOVE Sesshomaru from Inuyasha, and he will appear in this story (by name only). Every thing will be explained in time, so don't worry!

Summary: When a mysterious young woman with a dark past re-enters the life of one Yamaguchi Kumiko, things begin to get interesting in the lives of her past and current students, as well as in her own. Warning: mention of rape (no details/description), discussion of abuse, maybe an OC death. Told mainly from the point of my OC. Based on the drama.

Disclaimer: Even though I've been wishing for it for Christmas for years, I still cannot call Gokusen my own. I do, however, own the plot of this FANFICTION, and any original characters/situations have come straight from my twisted, Gokusen-obsessed brain.

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><p>I was walking along an unfamiliar street, following the directions that Kumiko-san had given me. After she had finally arrived at the coffee shop yesterday, she caught me up on her past and present students and the situations that went with them. When she had told me that Kuma had inherited his father's ramen shop and was still running it, I of course wanted to visit it, which brought me to my present situation. I still wasn't the best at reading kanji, so I didn't realize that I was at the shop until Kuma himself ran into me, literally, knocking me down.<p>

He looked around, then spotted me and looked at me in alarm. "Ah! Gomenazai," he apologized before proceeding to help me to my feet. Apparently he didn't recognize me.

"It's no problem," I assured him. "Although, Kuma, I'm a little hurt that you don't recognize me," I said with a smile. Seeing his confused look, I continued, "That's right. When you last saw me it was about six years ago and I couldn't speak a word of Japanese."

Kuma's eyes shifted from side to side as he tried to make sense of my words, and then they widened in recognition. "Neko-chan?" he murmured. I nodded and he smiled brilliantly. "Neko-chan, you're back!" he exclaimed before grabbing me in a bear hug. Setting me down, he motioned to the door. "Come on inside. I'll get you anything on the house."

As Kuma led me inside, I couldn't help but remember when I had first met him and the other four. I had been twelve at the time.

∻_Flashback∻_

_I didn't know why I was here, but I was grateful._

_I had been at home, being beaten again, when the doorbell rang. My parents had left me lying there in pain, and then I heard shouting followed by approaching footsteps. I had looked up from my place on the floor and saw a handsome, silver-haired man in a suit smiling sadly down at me. "You're going to go with me on a little trip, okay?" he had said before picking up my bruised body and carrying me out to his car. We had gone on a plane and landed in where the man told me was Japan. Even though I probably should've been, I wasn't afraid; anyplace was better then there._

_The man –he later told me to call him Sesshomaru– then had taken me to a very old-fashioned house, telling me that I would be safe there. He said that he was going back there to try and get my parents to agree to let me live with him. Then, after talking to an old man with a kind face in a language that I didn't understand, Sesshomaru left._

_That's how I got to this point. After a few attempts at communicating, I discovered that no one here spoke much English and, since I couldn't speak Japanese, I went in search for a place to sit alone. The old man with the kind face, seemingly understanding what I wanted, pointed me in the direction of a pretty red room upstairs– away from the stares at my bruises, away from the looks of pity that threatened to smother me under their collective weight._

_After about an hour or so I heard a new voice downstairs, a woman's, followed by the voice of the kind man who had showed me this room. It was silent for a bit, and then I heard someone coming up the stairs. I turned and saw a pretty young woman. Looking at her I felt reassured, because although her face held sadness –no doubt at my current situation– it was devoid of sympathy or pity._

_The woman sat down on the floor by me. In a strained voice, she pointed to herself and said, "Speak… little… English."_

_I smiled at her and then pointed to myself, saying, "Speak little Japanese."_

_The woman began to panic. "Speak… slowly… please!"_

_I smiled an nodded, repeating what I had said at a slower pace._

_Before the woman could say anything else, one of the men that I had seen downstairs earlier rushed up the steps. "Ojou," he greeted before handing the woman two books. I realized that they were translation dictionaries._

_The woman smiled at the man. "Arigato, Tetsu." I figured that "arigato" meant "thank you"._

_As the man was getting up to leave, I waved to get his attention. They both looked at me. I pointed to the man and said "Tetsu?" making it a question. When he nodded, I continued, "Um… arigato?" still unsure if I was saying it correctly. But then they both smiled and nodded, and the man, Tetsu, went back downstairs._

_Over the next few hours, with the help of the translation books, I learned the woman's name (Kumiko-san, as I would learn to call her), her age, and that she was a teacher. She talked a lot about her students, and really seemed to care for them. I told her my name, Katherine, and my nick-name, Kat, as well as my age and my dreams of becoming a teacher as well. I told her about how I wanted to share my love of knowledge, and she smiled and patted my head._

_Eventually, though, it was time for bed. I was adjusting to the time difference rather well, so I got to sleep around the same time as Kumiko-san._

_The next morning, because I had slept in her room, I woke up when Kumiko-san was getting ready for work. I had misplaced the translation book, but luckily she remembered the word for "school" and I got her meaning. I was able to help see her off, but on the way back inside I passed a mirror. The bruised were still pretty bad, and they covered most of my body. I decided to hide in the red room for the rest of the day._

_Imagine my shock when, hearing Kumiko-san's voice, I had rushed downstairs to greet her and also saw who I assumed were five of her students. They stared. I ran._

_Kumiko found me a few minutes later. "They… follow… me!" she said. "They… want… know. Can… I… say?"_

_I looked at her, then nodded, and she went downstairs. After a few minutes I heard my name being called. I went downstairs and found the five students sitting with Kumiko-san, all with kind smiles on their faces. Kumiko waved me over. "Talk… with… motion… okay?"_

_I nodded and then turned to face the young men, pointing to myself. "Kat."_

_The one with the shoulder length black hair and highlights tilted his head to the side. "Cat… neko?" One of the others asked a question and the young man turned to explain something._

_The second one that had spoken, one with shoulder length light brown hair cut in layers, looked at me. "Ah! Neko-chan!"_

_I just accepted it._

_They all introduced themselves: Kuma, Sawada, Minami, Noda, and "Uchi". They ignored my bruises and they came to visit me every day after classes, talking to me through gestures and even teaching me a few words in Japanese._

_But my happiness could only last for so long. Two weeks to be exact…_

"_I have to take you back."_

_I looked up at Sesshomaru in horror. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. I couldn't breathe._

"_I'm sorry; it's just for right now. I'm going to try and get you out of there as soon as I can."_

_I wasn't moving, so he picked me up. That's when I started struggling, started screaming. Why? Why was he taking me back to that daily torture? Why wasn't anyone stopping him? Why?_

_In my turmoil, I barely noticed the five students that I had made friends with over the past two weeks. "Neko-chan?"_

"_Neko-chan!"_

"_NEKO-CHAN!"_

_They asked Kumiko-san what was going on, and what ever her answer was must have been the truth. The last thing I saw as the I was taken away in the car was the five of them chasing after us, looks of horror on their faces._

∻_End Flashback∻_

I understood why it had been necessary for me to return, now. What's right and what's legal don't always coincide.

As I was lost in my memories, Kuma had come and sit down next to me. "You know," he said, looking out the window, "it's still early in the day." I smiled, finding humor in the fact that he was completely ignoring the fact that I could speak Japanese now. "The guys are all in town, well except for Shin –I mean Sawada. He's in Africa right now doing volunteer work. But anyway, I'm sure they would all be relieved to know that you're okay." He shifted his gaze to me. "We've been really worried ever since you got taken. All we were told was that you had to go back." Kuma sighed and leaned back in his chair. "The five of us figured that you were being taken back to wherever you got all those bruises from. We never were told the whole story."

I sighed and looked out the window. _"So, Kumiko-san left it for me to tell them,"_ I thought before turning to Kuma. "Alright, you can call them."


	3. Chapter 2

Woo! Chapter 2, alright! So, I'm a bit bummed that I don't have any reviews yet *hint hint nudge nudge* but I do want to give a shout out to the first person who added this to their favorites list, **Chuu112**! You are awesome!

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...

Yes, well enough of that, on to the story. Oh! By the way, it might be two weeks until I update (school stuff). In the meantime, reviews would really make my day!

Disclaimer: According to Wikipedia, I'm still not the owner of Gokusen... bummer xD

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><p>.<p>

About an hour later, the door to Kuma's ramen shop opened and three man walked in. "Oi, Kuma!" shouted the long-haired brunette. "What was so important that you couldn't tell us over the phone?"

The short haired brunette with the fashion sense spoke up next as they all sat down. "Yeah, we have lives too, ya know!"

The last, a blonde with black roots showing, added, "Well, we're here, so tell us what's so important."

Like Kuma earlier, the three Shirokin graduates had failed to recognize me, even though I had been sitting at a table right by the door and was the only other person in the restaurant. I turned in my seat, calling over to Kuma. "Hey, Kuma! You certainly have some rude customers."

Noda, Minami and Uchi all looked at me. "Look lady, we're not bothering you so just how about you leave us alone," reasoned Uchi, the other two nodding in the background.

I continued on as if I hadn't heard them. "I mean really! I know that they haven't seen me in six years, but you would think that they'd remember me after running after that car I was being taken away in."

I could practically hear the wheels turning in their heads. Uchi got it first. "Neko-chan?" he said uncertainly. The other two looked at me and three pairs of eyes widened when I nodded.

"Neko-chan?"

"Neko-chan!"

They had all jumped out of their seats in shock, and I stood up as well. Walking over to them, I gave them each a hug and then looked up at them. "Ariagto, for caring," I said. "I think that I owe you four a story."

Kuma walked out from the kitchen. "Neko-chan, I have Shin on the phone. I've gotten him caught up." He handed me the phone and I put it on speaker, placing it in the center of the table as we all sat back down.

A voice came from the phone. "Hello?"

I recognized it immediately. "Sawada-kun, it's Neko-chan," I greeted.

There was silence and then–

"Neko-chan?"

"Hai."

A sigh. "You speak Japanese quite well," he said, avoiding the subject.

I smiled and nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "It's all a part of my story. That's why I wanted to talk to you all at once: I want to tell this as few times as possible."

Minami motioned for me to continue. "Well, you see I should probably start with telling you about my biological family." I paused, taking a breath. "There was my parents, my brother, and myself. I always could tell that my brother was the favorite, but I never knew that my parents hated me. Well, at least not until I was about ten years old." I looked around the table and, seeing only reassuring expressions, I continued.

"One day when I was about ten I had come home from school. I was really happy, you see because I had gotten the highest grade in the class on my math test. I think it was in the high eighties. But anyway, I went into my dad's office to show him and my mother and that's when it all started going downhill."

"Apparently, the grade wasn't 'good enough'," I said bitterly. By now I was looking at the table, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "My mother held me down while my dad beat me. I can't remember crying; I think that I was in too much shock."

"It got worse over the next few years. I discovered that both of my 'parents' were, are, alcoholics, which made their rage that much more fearsome. I tried to be what they thought was good, but every day–" I broke off, a sob catching in my throat. I felt a hand on my shoulder; looking up I saw that it belonged to Noda who, along with the others, had an array of emotions flitting across their faces.

"Every day I was beaten for something," I went on, ignoring the tears that were beginning to roll down my face. "Then, one day, something changed. The insults that went along with the beatings began to be less about what I had done wrong and more about what was wrong with me."

I wiped a few tears from my face, although they were replaced instantly. "'You're ugly; you're fat; you're stupid; worthless; useless'. It seemed that I could never be a good daughter anyway."

"One day, when I was twelve, I received one of the worst beatings yet. That's when my aniki rescued me. And, well, you guys know what happened until I had to be taken back."

"But if things were that bad, why did you get taken back there?" asked Kuma.

I smiled sadly. "Because, my aniki hadn't been able to win the legal battles for my custody. So I was sent back. They left me alone for a few months, and then the beatings started up again. They were worse than before, more violent. I had to skip school a few times because the injuries were so bad."

"Then, one day in May, right after I had turned fifteen, my dad left." I stopped, sobbing as I put my arms around myself, trying to hold it together. "My mother blamed me. The first day that she and my brother beat me, I knew that I might die. As soon as they left the room I crawled to my desk and pulled out the cell phone that my aniki had given me. I called him, begged for him to rescue me. That was when they came back in the room."

I was crying full out now, but I knew that I had to finish the story. "My brother stomped on my wrist, crushing it. I screamed. I had never screamed or cried at the beatings before, but I was truly afraid for my life. I was beaten to within an inch of my life, held captive in my own home for three days. I screamed until I lost my voice, but no one came. The neighbors didn't care. They ignored my screams for help."

"My aniki broke down the front door on the third day, a group of police officers and EMTs with him. I found out later that nearly every bone in my body had been eather fractured, broken, or crushed outright. I was flown to Japan, and stayed in a hospital not far from here. One of my broken ribs punctured my left lung, and I almost stopped breathing. But–"

I broke off, then took a shuddering breath before continuing. "But I knew I was safe now. I wouldn't have to go back there. While I was stuck in the hospital bed for the some-odd months I put my all into learning Japanese because–"

I paused, looking around the table at a mixture of sad, angry, and remorseful expressions. "Because the only people who had ever cared for me were from here, a country an the opposite side of the world from where I had lived my whole life. At the very least, I wanted to be able to communicate with you all." Finally finished with my story, I looked down at my lap

There was a few moments of silence, and then Sawada-kun spoke up from his end of the phone. "Neko-chan," came his strained voice. "Arigato, for trusting us."

The other four nodded. "Arigato, Neko-chan," they all said in low voices.

I was still looking down at my lap, so I didn't see Minami get up and walk over to me. He hugged me from behind, startling me into looking up. He then knelt down by my side. "You know," he said. "You're parents, they lied."

"What?" I asked, unsure of what he was talking about.

Minami smiled at me, patting my head. "You aren't any of those terrible things that they called you."

"Minami's right," said Uchi.

"Yeah, if anything, you're the exact opposite," Noda told me, Kuma nodding in agreement.

I started to cry again, although this time it was out of happiness. "Arigato."

Sawada's voice came over the phone once more. "Before I go, I just want to say one more thing. Neko-chan, you know that you can always count on us, too, right? I think that I can speak for the others when I ask for you to think of us as older brothers."

I nodded, making a few more tears spill over. "Hai. I'd like that very much." I looked around the table at their caring faces. "Arigato."


	4. Chapter 3

_Okay, so I really want a review. I'm only asking for one! Please? But anyway, I'm not going to update again until I get at least one review. How else will I know what to write next? You're review can be anything, comments, suggestions, whatever._

_Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this FANFICTION_

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><p>I was at Kuma's ramen shop again, thinking over the events that had occurred earlier that day…<p>

∻_Flashback∻_

_ I was in the coffee shop with Kumiko-san again, the day after meeting with Shirokin's 3-D. Now, I'm a pretty average girl: brown hair that goes to my mid-back, green eyes, average height and weight, maybe a little above average intelligence. I was by no means a detective of any sort and was usually the last in the room to notice something, but today I could just tell. There was something different about Kumiko-san. She seemed a bit plumper around the middle and she was… glowing? No way…_

_ "Ano, Kumiko-san," I spoke up. She looked up from her coffee, locking gazes with me. "Um, I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but are you by any chance…" I trailed off into silence._

"_What?"_

"_Are you by any chance… pregnant?" I whispered._

_She stiffened, her eyes widening. "Wha-what?"_

"_So it's true!" I exclaimed._

_Kumiko-san clapped a hand over my mouth. "Shh!"_

_I removed her hand from my mouth. "So, who's the lucky guy?" I whispered. I didn't expect for her, the infallible Yamaguchi Kumiko, to start crying. "What is it?"_

"_I-I don't know!" she sobbed. Luckily by this point in time we were the only two in the shop._

"_What do you mean you don't know?" I asked. I knew that she wasn't the type to sleep around so– "You mean… rape?" I whispered._

_She nodded. "I was drugged. About three months ago. I haven't told anyone yet so please, don't tell anyone!" she begged. I nodded, agreeing, albeit reluctantly._

"_But Kumiko-san," I said softly. "You should at least tell your students. They really care about you, and if you're going to keep it then they'll find out eventually. It would be better to tell them now."_

_The woman across from me wiped her tears away, sniffling. "I will. Soon." She sighed. "Soon."_

∻_End Flashback∻_

I was startled from my thoughts by a group of familiar voices entering the shop. "Oi, Kuma!" called the tallest as their group grabbed a table. "Some pot-stickers over here!"

Kuma looked up from the back. "Guys!" he exclaimed. "Long time no see!" He looked over to me and I motioned for him to ignore me.

As Takeda, Hyuuga, Tsucchi, Yabuki, and Odagiri all sat down I observed the changes in their appearances. Both Takeda's and Odagiri's hair had darkened to the natural colors. Hyuuga had cut his hair while Takeda seemed to be growing his out. Gone was the appearance of a delinquent; instead they all wore either suits or nice, clean, wrinkle-free casual clothes.

I sighed. It had been three years since they had seen me, and I hadn't been in the best of shape at that time.

∻_Flashback∻_

"_Come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment;_

_Come little children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows…"_

_Over the past few weeks, ever since my fifteenth birthday, the beatings had gotten steadily worse. I never cried, though. Never screamed, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how many bones were broken. I hadn't, not since that one beating when I was twelve._

_Today though, I felt –I knew– that I was going to die. The day before yesterday, a Friday, I had come home from school to find that my "father" had left. Apparently this time it was for good. "Mother" is blaming me. She and my "brother" took turns holding me down while the other one beat me. The word "hit" would be too mild. Finally after what felt like days –according to the clock, it had only been a little over two hours– the two went in the other room to eat dinner. I had crawled to the loose floorboard by my bed and taken out the hidden cell phone that Sesshomaru had given me. I pressed his speed dial and he picked up immediately. "Katherine? Are you okay?"_

"_Help me, Sessh–"_

"_Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way through all the pain and the sorrows;  
>Weep not poor children for life is this way, murdering beauty and passions…"<em>

_It must have taken me longer that I thought to get to the phone and call –or maybe they just ate that quickly– but before I could finish my plea my "brother" stomped on my wrist, which was easy for him seeing as I was still lying on the floor. I let go of the phone and screamed, knowing –hoping– that Sesshomaru would understand what was happening and help me. My "mother" then crushed the phone under her high heel, sneering maliciously at me._

_For the rest of that day and all of the next they beat me continuously. Because they slept at different times, there was only about two hours each day when I was left alone. They knew I couldn't get away; bones in both of my legs had been broken, so I lay there in puddles of my own fluids: blood, sweat, and tears, as well as other things._

"_Hush now dear children it must be this way, to weary of life and deceptions;  
>Rest now my children, for soon we'll away into the calm and the quiet…"<em>

_When the third day, a Sunday, had come and the two walked in my room to begin the beatings again, I nearly gave up hope. But, just like the past two days, I held out. I prayed, cried, screamed. Every hour that passed took a little of my hope with it._

_And then, when the two went to eat lunch, my savior arrived. He picked me up and carried me out, apologizing the entire way. An EMT outside pronounced my condition as "stable, but critical". Then, we were off to Japan. Sesshomaru told me that he could adopt me now, if that's what I wanted. I tried to nod, but it hurt too much. "Yes" I rasped before falling into unconsiousness._

"_Come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment;_

_Come little children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows…"_

_Everything was a blur now. I vaguely remembered doctors and a hospital, before again slipping into the dark abyss._

_The first thing that I clearly remembered was opening my eyes and seeing Kumiko-san's face. "Hello," she greeted in English, better than she spoke last time._

"_Hello," I said in return, my voice small and broken._

"_You will stay with us while Sesshomaru-sama finishes up in America," Kumiko-san told me. "You need anything?"_

_I thought for a moment before replying. "Japanese learning books, please." After all, this country was my new home. I should probably speak the language._

_The days went by slowly. Because I was stuck in bed, all I could really do was read. Kumiko-san told me all about her new students and their problems, giving me so much detail that it felt like I really knew them. Imagine my shock when one day, after about a week of staying at the Oedo household, Kumiko-san entered my temporary room followed by five young men that I recognized immediately._

"_Neko-chan," she said softly as she sat down by my bed. "They wished to know why I am leaving early every day."_

_I looked up at the five boys faces and saw various emotions, sadness and pain among them. I could understand why. With casts and bruises covering most of my body, I probably was worth staring at. I smiled at them, trying to remember how to say "nice to meet you" in Japanese. "Um… Hajimemashite?" I said uncertainly, looking over to the other woman for confirmation. I was relieved when she nodded, giving me a thumbs up._

_I turned back to the five young men. Raising a shaky hand, I pointed to them one by one. "Tsuchiya-kun" I said, pointing out the tallest one. He looked shocked, but nodded. My hand moved to the smallest of the group as I said "Takeda-kun" before moving on to the rest. "Hyuuga-kun. Yabuki-kun. Odagiri-kun."_

_The rest of the day was spent communicating through slow English or Japanese, or through hand motions. They never asked about my injuries, so I assumed that Kumiko-san had told them._

_Another week passed, and Sesshomaru arrived. "Imouto," he said to me, "I'm taking you to your new home now."_

_I was sad; I would miss Kumiko-san and her students, but I knew that once I got better I could come see them again. "Hai, aniki" I said, startling him with my knowledge of the language._

_We left around noon, while everyone was still at the school. I made a promise to myself then and there that I would come back one day…"_

∻_End Flashback∻_

I was once again roused form my thoughts when a voice called over to me. "Neko-chan?"


	5. Chapter 4

**_Okay, seriously, so more updates after this until I get at least one review!_**

**_Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this FANFICTION_**

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><p><em>I was once again roused form my thoughts when a voice called over to me. "Neko-chan?"<em>

Chapter 4

I looked over to the source of the voice and saw the group of five Kurogin High graduates staring at me in confusion and shock. I wasn't surprised that they had recognized me, because after all it had only been three years since the last time I had crossed paths with them. I probably hadn't changed much, other than the obvious absence of injuries.

"Neko-chan?" Takeda-kun called over to me a second time. They were all staring at me as if I was an illusion, liable to disappear any second.

I nodded, afraid that if I spoke I would start to cry. They stood up and walked over to me, kneeling around my seat so that they were looking me in the eye. "Neko-chan?" Hyuuga-kun spoke up. "Do you remember us?"

Tsucchi-kun hit him over the back of his head with his fan. "Baka! She probably still can't understand us."

At this I shook my head. "Iie," I finally spoke up, startling the five young men. "I can speak Japanese just fine now. And I do remember you all." I pointed to them one by one, very similarly to how I had years ago. "Tsuchiya-kun," I said as I pointed to the fan-wielding young man. "Takeda-kun, Hyuuga-kun, Yabuki-kun, Odagiri-kun."

I watched as their faces broke into smiles. "Neko-chan!" they all exclaimed, except for Odagiri who calmly smiled and patted my head.

The next hour was filled with reminiscing and stories of events that I had missed: things that they had gotten up to while they were still students, how they had felt after they found out I had left, the tearful graduation ceremony. I told them about my time spent in recovery and all of the effort that I had put into learning Japanese so that one day I could meet up with them again and properly express my gratitude. That was when they began to look uncomfortable.

"Ano, Neko-chan," began Yabuki-kun. "Yankumi told us, well she let us know about, I mean–"

He was interrupted by Odagiri-kun. "What Hayato is trying to say is that Yankumi let us know about your past and the details of how you came to be injured that time." The cool-headed one of the group motioned to the other four. "And, from now on, you can think of us as your family." The other four nodded, agreeing with Odagiri-kun.

"Minna-san," I said. "Arigato."

※

So it was the next day, a Thursday, and Kumiko-san and I were on our way to the school. I had convinced her to let me accompany her every day, at least until she told her class and they could watch out for her. I had promised to be inconspicuous, and since 3-D had class in an abandoned building the other teachers wouldn't notice.

We were standing in front of the classroom's graffitied sliding door. "Alright," said Kumiko-san. "I'll go in and tell them that we have a guest, and then you can come in and introduce yourself. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Yosh!" cheered the other woman before going inside. I stayed out of sight, listening. "Ohayo!"

"Ohayo," the class greeted.

"Class, we're going to be having a guest for a few days, perhaps longer. I want you to treat them nicely!"

That was my cue. I walked in the classroom in my dark-washed jeans and t-shirt. Nothing special. The class of boys stared at me. "Um… hi? I'm Katherine, but my nickname is Neko-chan–"

"How is Neko-chan a nickname for Katherine? Isn't that a foreign name?" asked a blonde in the back before getting hit over the head by a classmate.

I smiled. "Hai. Originally I'm from America, but I moved here three years ago when I was fifteen. And I'm called 'Neko-chan' because in English 'neko' means 'cat', and that was my nickname in English." The class nodded in understanding. "I first met Kumiko-san –I mean Yamaguchi-sensei– when I was twelve due to… certain circumstances. Then I met her again when I moved here at age fifteen. I've taught myself Japanese and I still can't speak it perfectly, nor can I read it, so I apologize for any mistakes. I'm currently eighteen and will be hanging out here for a while."

Kumiko-san then got the class to introduce themselves. It seemed to me like the leaders of the class were Kazama Ren, Ogata Yamato, Honjo Kengo, Ichimura Rikiya, Kuraki Satoru, and Kamiya Shunsuke. If they didn't take the pregnancy thing well then the rest of the class probably wouldn't either. I just hoped that this class really did care for Kumiko-san.

※

We were going over a worksheet. I had always been pretty good at math so today I was helping the students, but I think that some of them were just pretending not to know what they were doing.

"Neko-chan, over here!"

"Neko-chan, I don't quite understand this."

"Neko-chan."

"Neko-chan!"

"NEKO-CHAN!"

I had had it with this nonsense. "Shut _up!_" I screamed, startling them into silence. I looked around at the class. "If you _really_ need help, then you can raise your hand and wait for me to come around instead of shouting at me. And you know, Yamaguchi-sensei can help you, too."

"But we don't want _her_ help," said someone from the back of the room. Then a good two-thirds of the class stood up and began to crowd me, trying to get me to look at their paper first. I flashed back to _that_ house, to _those_ beatings, to _those_ people standing over me.

"_NO!_" I screamed before running for it.

※

The class of 3-D stared after Neko-chan in shock. "What just happened?" asked Ichimura.

"I'm not really sure," answered Yamato, also confused.

Kamiya sat down at his desk. "Was it something that we did?" he added.

Yankumi, furious, slammed her open palm down on a nearby desk. "_BAKAS!_" she shouted, "Why on earth would you crowd her like that?"

"But Yankumi," continued Honjo. "Any normal person wouldn't have run out screaming."

"Baka!" their teacher repeated. "You have no idea what that girl has been through." With that Yankumi ran out after the distressed young woman.

※

I had found a park nearby the school. I was now sitting on a bench near a large fountain and was trying to regain my composure. I had finally managed to stop crying when I heard a soft "Neko-chan?" from behind me. Turning my head, I saw Kumiko-san looking at me with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

I gave her a tearful smile. "Hai."

She came and sat down next to me on the bench. "Do you want to go back to the school?"

"Hai," I responded.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until tomorrow? I won't make you go back."

I tilted my head back, looking up at the clouds passing overhead. "It's fine. Besides, I have to explain the reason why I ran out, don't I?"

Kumiko-san looked up at the clouds as well. "It's up to you."

I sighed, then stood up and wiped my face. "Alright then, let's go."


End file.
